Summer is slowly coming to a close here in the desert of Southern California. The changes are subtle. I was driving home from Indio Interstate 10 the other day and I noticed how much further south the sun is setting. I've followed sunsets for years now along the ridge line of the San Jacinto mountains and I'm following them again this year. Also, there is a golden glow in the late afternoons, about 4 p.m. Finally, my Chinaberry tree is turning yellow and its leaves are falling. I have 3 Adirondack chairs under it, where I sit and write in my journal, and every morning they are covered with leaves. Finally, birds are returning...I saw and heard a black phoebe and saw 2 ducks overhead one morning while driving the 5 year old granddaughter to kindergarten.
I went out this morning (since trash pickup day is tomorrow) and filled up 2 of the green waste recycling bins with trimmings just from the front yard. The mesquite has exploded with growth over the last month. I know because one weekend I filled up 3 of the green bins with branches from it. I'm trimming stuff now to get ready for my fall annual plantings. I have a large area along our walkway that I want to plant hollyhocks, so I needed to clean up that area... DONE!
We DO have to get the mesquite trimmed and thinned out. To my horror, I went out one day, looked up, and saw where one of the major branches is cracking. It's the one that goes out over the driveway and shades our car. So, unfortunately, because of the weight of all the side branches, it will need to come down. There are a couple of dead branches, too, and a couple that are hanging almost straight down, so we will have to get a professional tree trimmer out to trim it. $$$$ ahead...sigh...BUT, it has to be done.
So, fall is slowly creeping up on us. We will have double digit temperatures next week...FINALLY! And, our nights are cooling off, to where we can open up the windows and TURN OFF the air conditioner! Isn't that nice?
Take care.
~Cheryl Ann~
